'Fractional Leadership 101' with Jessica Lee

This week is all about Fractional Leadership; what it means and why it can be useful for any business looking to scale. Fractional leaders can handle multiple things: they lighten the work load, they help coach leaders stepping into full time positions and they usually are more cost friendly to the business over the long term.

The trick with fractional leaders is understanding which kind is right for your business. Where do you need them most?

Jessica Lee is one of those fractional leaders that comes with 20+ years experience helping business's scale and grow. Along with Dave and Hannah she shares the importance of understanding your role in any business and being realistic and honest about how long you should be there.

If you would like to use Jessica's services follow the link here.

To watch the entire episode check out our Youtube channel here.

To find more information on The Five Facets and Evolve Leadership Consulting visit the link here or email us at info@theevolvedifference.com

Hosts: Dave Newell & Hannah Pniewski

Produced by: Dave Newell, Hannah Pniewski and Christopher Paul Smith

Edited by: Christopher Paul Smith

Coordination:  Loli Basualdo

Transcript

Jessica Lee 0:00

8 a.m. every single day, Monday through Friday. And then it, you know, we do all of these things together on Tuesdays and Thursdays after work. You know, if there's a ton of synergy that's being had uh Monday through Friday in the organization, I don't know that fractional is the best fit because again, we're only gonna be there certain, you know, there's there's a limit. Like that's the beauty. That's kind of what you're signing up for is that it's fractional, it's not full time. So, you know, that catch up, the game of catch up, being like, oh, you know, Jessica wasn't there, that's right. You know, we gotta catch her up on this thing, can end up being pretty costly.

Hannah Pniewski 0:37

Happy Monday afternoon.

Dave Newell 0:39

Happy Monday afternoon. Our uh continuing to dive into season four.

Hannah Pniewski 0:45

I know. So exciting.

Dave Newell 0:47

Our first interview of season four. I'm really excited about the conversation today, as we always are with guests, but uh this one is near and dear. We've known Jess for a little bit and we've partnered on projects, and she's an up-and-coming dynamic uh butt kick and fractional CO. I mean, she's fun to work with and does a lot of good stuff, and I think uh a good partner in the work that we do. So I'm excited to get I'm excited to have this conversation. I'm excited for y'all to get to meet Jess and learn more about her.

Hannah Pniewski 1:18

Yeah, absolutely. Jess is someone that has worked with us on engagements with clients, um, and we've had her part of internal projects, and so yeah, she's wonderful. But before we get to her, how are you? I know we're just kicking off this season. We only recorded our first episode so far. This is our first interview. How are we feeling at the beginning of season four?

Dave Newell 1:37

Season four is good. We're excited. We've hit a few milestones with the old pod. Uh, and we just, you know, we found a lot of value in it. We hope you're finding value in it as well. Uh, we want to keep bringing it. Yeah, how are you feeling as we get this going?

Hannah Pniewski 1:51

Yeah, very excited. This season, again, we're gonna do something a little bit different where we basically present use cases of different companies that are struggling with different things, and then we're gonna walk through like what would we address? Like, how would we fix this? How would we make it better? How would we help the leadership and how would we help the team of doers that are trying to implement the work? So I'm excited to dig into that. We'll do that, we'll do a little bit of interviews and it'll be a fun time.

Dave Newell 2:16

As always, fun times. Well, so I know I teed up Jess a little bit early before we even got to say, How are you? How's it going?

Hannah Pniewski 2:22

Yeah.

Dave Newell 2:22

Uh, because I'm just that excited. But uh uh tell us a little bit about our guests today.

Hannah Pniewski 2:29

Yes. So today, joining us is the founder and CEO of Optimized Execs, Jessica Lee. She has built a company to solve a very real problem many growing startups face when growth outpaces structure. She saw too many founders stuck between hiring a full-time executive too early or piecing together fragmented fractional support that just didn't deliver. So she created something called the fractional flex model, which she's going to tell us more about today. Grounded in accountability, intentional matching, and exec and execution discipline, not rigid frameworks, Optimize Execs helps founder-led growth stage companies get the leadership they need without the overhead of another full-time hire. So without further ado, let's talk to Jess. Hello, Jess. Hello.

Dave Newell 3:19

Hi Jessica Lee. How are you?

Jessica Lee 3:21

Dave, doing well, Hannah. Hi.

Hannah Pniewski 3:24

Hi, hi. We're very excited to have you here. And we were telling our listeners that we've worked with you with on engagements, also on internal projects. Um, and so this is this is like welcoming one of the family onto the podcast.

Dave Newell 3:35

Yeah, yeah. Huge fan. We're excited to have you. Yeah. What's happening in your world as you kick off 2026? Just what's on your mind these days? What's burning questions? What are you seeing? What's going on? Just give us two minutes about what what's happening in your world.

Jessica Lee 3:50

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. 2026 has been uh we've been hitting the ground running. Uh so lots of fun stuff coming. I think I shared with you guys I uh recently was Colby certified. So really excited to kind of deepen how I use it. Um, I use the Colby Index both internally for Optimize Execs as I'm matching fractionals with businesses. Um, but really I've seen it it be really helpful for some clients that I'm working with. So got that going on. Recently certified uh as a five facets consultant as well. You guys might be familiar with the five facets of business. Yeah. So wrap both of those certifications off just in time to um launch a new service offering uh that my business is launching in 2026, which is kind of a newer spin on uh providing fractional leadership to businesses in growth and transition. So fractional, typically, when you think of fractional, it's very domain-specific, like uh, do I need a fractional COO or fractional CFO? Like, where's the pain in the business? What do I need? And so what I found uh over the last few years being a fractional COO is that when I would come into an organization, it was rarely the case that operations uh was the only leadership gap that existed. So created a model where I can work with businesses to understand what their capacity and budget is for fractional leadership support. And then we've we call it fractional flex. Um so we strategically can flex different uh domain expertise. So maybe months one through three, you need a fractional COO and a fractional CFO. But then once we've got some strong execution plans based off strategy, books are cleaned up, we've got some forecasting. Now maybe it's time to you know peel back on those hours and bring on maybe a fractional CHRO or someone to drive revenue. So really excited about that, having some good conversations lately.

Dave Newell 5:40

Well, uh before we go too far, can you just give two seconds on what the Colby is Colby A is, just in case our audience doesn't know what that means?

Jessica Lee 5:51

100%. Yes. So Colby is one of many assessments out there that can be used to help understand how to interact with people and how to understand that the way that they interact with the world. So really Colby is different in that it's based on the concept and understanding that there are three different parts of the mind: the cognitive, which is going to be like your IQ tests, um, your, you know, kind of really learning and cognition-based uh assessments, and then second personality, right? So we've all disc, there's so many out there. Um, but you know, who are people? How do they interact with the world? How do how can I expect them to show up and be a team player with others? But the third, less talked about part of the brain is uh the connative part of the brain, which really talks about how you show up to naturally solve problems when left to do them at free will. So um Colby takes a look at uh, you know, are you a high quick start, meaning you jump in and you start iterating and trying things out and moving stuff iteratively? Or are you a high fact finder, meaning if left to your own vices, you're gonna dig in and spend a lot of time, you know, looking for proof and data and proving things out. So um that cognitive piece also all often helps both with team dynamics, but also hiring and leadership expectations, right? Like you may give one person, you might give two people the same assignment and one's got something for you in two days and the other one has not said a word, right? And that doesn't mean that one's smarter, better, more invested than the other person. Um, it's just how they approach work.

Hannah Pniewski 7:22

I love the Colby. It helped me a lot in a previous position I was in, because I was a two quick start, and then I was working with someone who was a 10. So I'm a planner. I'm gonna sit and think and prepare. And the 10 was like, let's jump off the cliff, here we go. But we balance each other out really well. What is your score again, if you remind me? Mine? Mine is a nine, eight, one, three. Nice. Okay, cool. Um yeah, so there's four different scores that you get in the Colby, and I highly recommend for those of you who haven't checked it out before, it's such a great tool as a leader to understand your team, and then, like you're saying, like to help each other, you know, work together better.

Dave Newell 8:00

Well, I I appreciate you I appreciate you defining that. I was uh I forget sometimes in our world that this is a thing that we think about and talk about a lot. I heard I was talking to somebody the other day who hadn't heard of Strengths Finder before. And I remember thinking, like, how in the heck have you never heard of strengths finder before? But also then I realized that yeah, our world is behavioral assessments and organizational development tools, and that's the world we live in. So I have to remind myself that oh yeah, we should probably define some of these things sometimes. So I appreciate you doing that. You know, I'd love to talk more about this fractional piece. I mean, especially the fractional flex piece. I mean, honestly, we met each other uh exploring um I mean, before we were you were calling it fractional flex, it was kind of what we were doing. Jumping in on an engagement together, taking somewhat different lenses and looking at different things. But if you can just talk a little bit about the value of fractional, why does it matter? Why is it important? What can you do that like a typical you know consultant or coach can't do? And maybe then how that you know, applying some of these frameworks that you're talking about, like the Colby or the Five Facets, or you know, I know you're an EOS integrator as well. Like, how do those things tie in? And I know I maybe asked two two big gnarly questions there, maybe just pick the first one, but uh, I'm eager to hear both.

Jessica Lee 9:19

No, it's great. So fractional, I'll start with the first one. You know, fractional is a great solution both for founder-led early stage growth, like businesses and growth. I would say traditionally, you know, founders get to that spot in growing their business where they know that they need help at the leadership level, but don't necessarily have the budget for it or they don't need it at a full-time capacity, but they're feeling like they're the only one driving the ship. And so fractional showed up on the scene, it's been around for several years, but really gaining crazy popularity over the last few years. I think the last time I pulled data for a speaking event, it was like one in four businesses had a fractional leadership member at some capacity in their organization. And the number of LinkedIn profiles mentioned mentioning fractionals went from like 2,000 to like 50,000 or 100,000 within the matter of a couple of years. So it's definitely here to stay. It's definitely a growing trend. And again, it provides that expertise. So somebody who has been there, seen it, done it, has held that position at a full-time capacity, but now they're offering it on a part-time uh basis, which is you know, less overhead commitment, less uh less salary, less benefits, all those things. So it's a great way to begin to iteratively build your leadership team as you're a growing business. I'll dive into the second part, um, how that kind of comes into play. I think what you asked, Dave, the way that you framed it is, you know, how does that differ from a traditional consulting or coach engagement, fractional? And it's a good question. It's one uh I we get asked a lot. And the way that I like to describe it is that, you know, a fractional is really an embedded role in your organization. Like they have a role, they have a seat at the table, they're making decisions, they're owning outcomes, they're putting hands to keyboard and doing work, where often a consultant or an advisor or a coach comes in with the expertise to really advise and to guide and to give strategy, uh, not necessarily sit in the role day in, day out, and make decisions and own outcomes. And then the third part of what you asked, Dave, is really um how do other frameworks like uh EOS and the five facets of business, how does that complement as a fractional and especially with this fractional flex model? And yeah, I would say operating systems in general are such a core foundational component for a business, especially as they're going to approach growth or transition. So, some operating systems, some sort of framework to say this is what we follow to assess where we're going, how we're doing, and what we want to achieve, right? And so you can use EOS, you can use the five facets, um, there are others out there that you could select. I think what's important is that you have one, you're clearly communicating it across your organization, um, and it's giving you the lens into your business that you need to truly make the change that you're hoping to make. I think I think one, I commend you on remembering the full scope of the question. Yeah, it's a big Dave got me with a big one. Yeah.

Dave Newell 12:19

I got I got excited, and as I kept going, I was like, man, I want to know a lot of stuff from you, Jess. I should probably ask one at a time. Sorry about that.

Hannah Pniewski 12:27

No, but I want to know a lot of stuff from you too. And so I think I'm actually really curious, like, what brought you into this realm of work? And right now, in this current moment, I would be really curious to know, like, what's the thing that you see the most people struggling with? Like, what kind of brought you into doing this line of things? And right now, what do you see there like is the most common struggle for leaders or for businesses?

Jessica Lee 12:52

Yeah, it's a good question. So um I have over 20 years experience business operations, started out very small startup locally in operations, then took a pretty big leap to a global enterprise-sized uh organization where I worked for several years as well, um, before returning about 10 years ago now. I would say seven years ago, to small to medium-sized business as a COO. And so what I learned during that last transition is that I was able to take what I had learned along the course of my career, both from small business and very large enterprise business systems, and boil things down to a right size fit for a growing company, and knowing that that changes and evolves as a business goes through change. So I loved realizing that through kind of jumping around, I had seen enough of how the small guys were doing it, how the large big dogs were doing it. And now I can kind of take that and boil it down and help businesses grow and scale. So after I was able to do that as a fractional COO for a small business, I was like, I love doing this. This is where I find that I bring value and also enjoy the work. And so that's when I opened my LLC and said, let me go do this fractionally so that I can help more clients and build and grow. And knowing that long term, my goal was then to kind of build a team of fractionals to really kind of serve the market that needs it.

Dave Newell 14:16

When you engage these clients as a fractional, like what are some what are some best practices on the client side? Like if I were hiring you as a fractional COO, right? Like, how do I actually do that well? Like what are the things that I need to be thinking about? Because I know each one of us probably has a few, a few battle scars from you know, interesting engagements with clients, and we've had our own, you know, missteps in terms of how we've engaged clients, et cetera. And I think there is just like a true, what does this look like when it's done well? Kind of how does that shake out?

Jessica Lee 14:50

Yeah, no, it's good. And so I know we talked already about Colby, but I think that fitness uh is one of the first things I'll talk about. Like understand what you're looking for in that role when you bring a fractional on. Are you looking for, you know, and there's no right or wrong answer, right? But like if you are somebody who tends to move fast and you've got a lot of ideas that you want to get done in a quick time, are you looking for a thought partner and leadership person to come alongside you and stay really up to speed with you? Or have you run into some problems where you're like, ah, I know this about myself, and I would like somebody for, you know, to calm me down and talk about risks or other things that maybe might want to think about before I make decisions. So being really clear with yourself about who you are as a leader and how you're wanting that fractional to show up and compliment you and then help that kind of titrate throughout the organization. I would say that's one of the biggest ones. And Colby's one way of doing that, but there's plenty of other ways, just really knowing who you want and how you want them to show up. So that's first. Second, I think really understanding the pitfall of uh sometimes people get excited, like, oh, the fractional price tag of this leadership support is great. Um, but also uh welcome to the team. And here's, you know, five days worth of meetings on your calendar, and here's like the 17th. So really making clear whether that's a monthly retainer or an hourly engagement saying, hey, you know, I'm gonna expect you to be available for you know these core meetings, you know, discuss openly like what is expectations in terms of response times, you know, as a fractional who might be contracted with a business for 40 hours a month or 60 hours a month, I can't be in their email and their Slack channels every day, all five days of the week. I just can't. Um, but having that conversation says, hey, you can text me or you can use this mode of communication if it's an emergency and I'll make myself readily available, but really understanding what that cadence is of working together. I think those are the two biggest, Dave.

Hannah Pniewski 16:48

Yeah, absolutely. Knowing yourself and your business and then who you're looking for, and then yeah, being aware of scope. Those are two very important things to be conscious of and to prepare for before adding someone like yourself to the team. I am gonna bring back my other question though. Um the the struggles that you're seeing right now, like what are the things that you feel like you're having to address time and time again with your clients?

Jessica Lee 17:15

That's a good question. I think um each organization obviously is unique, but I would say that one of the most important ones that I'm seeing um across the board is a lack of clarity across the organization. So, you know, we know that you know we can set the vision and we can set our goals. Um, but as we make progress and things change, are we doing a good job of communicating that down and making sure that everybody is clearly aligned to where we're going as an organization and where we're at at the moment? If things have pivoted, are we communicating that? Um, and then also, you know, clarity is bigger than that. It's you know, downstream, like we're setting the high big picture goal and the execution plan. But now what are we looking at? What are we measuring month over month? What kind of goals are we holding people accountable for? And can we look at those and say, yep, if we roll all of these up, these all serve that larger vision.

Hannah Pniewski 18:10

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's so easy to get bogged down and get distracted, or you know, things are moving so fast, especially with any smaller organization as well, that you know, messages just get lost, or there aren't processes for communication, for you know, cascading messages and spreading things out to everybody. Yeah, we see that a lot too. And that's one of the things that, you know, we help people address very often. Are you ready to accelerate your business's growth? Or are you just tired of putting out fires day in and day out and ready to see your business finally find its stride? After 10 years of working with clients, we designed the five facets of business framework to streamline your operations and enhance efficiency by aligning the culture, strategy, operations, story, and finances of your business. Discover how to transform your challenges into opportunities by taking our business velocity assessment, available on our website at the evolverence.com. Want to talk to someone instead? Visit our website to book a time with a member of our team. It's time to kick off your journey towards significant growth and sustained success. Because when your business is aligned, you can achieve business velocity. Now, back to the show. I'm curious if anybody's listening to this and kind of wondering, you know, okay, yeah, fractional sounds like the thing that I need, but how do I know I don't need a full-time person? Uh I'm curious if, I mean, honestly, either of you would have a thought about there or, you know, uh a guidance about that. Like, how can someone, a potential, you know, business leader or someone to work with, understand whether they need someone fractionally or they need someone full-time? Like, what's the biggest difference?

Jessica Lee 19:50

I'll answer that, Dave. Um, I think the, I think, I think really that lies in making sure that you're getting clear about what the role is. So, what I've advised people to do in that scenario is why don't you draft out a job description for each, right? So, where do you want this person showing up? What are they going to be accountable for? Are they gonna have direct reports? You know, what what role are they playing in the business? And then um, you know, draw that out for a full-time executive and then draw it out, you know, completely open-minded for a fractional. Um, and then the second part, which, you know, is the reality for many businesses that are in transition, is what does the budget allow for? Right now, do some market research. Um, what would you be investing in that person and then making that business decision on the trade-off? You know, do I want to, do I want to take on somebody full time, you know, to get maybe some quicker wins over a shorter period of time, but pay up front uh for that salary? Or is this something where I'm like, hey, even a little bit of relief at the leadership level here makes sense. And this uh this price tag for a fractional fits my budget better.

Dave Newell 20:53

You know, one thing I think about too with fractionals is you can often get a higher level of expertise than you may be able to afford at a particular period of time if you tried to hire full-time. I was just having this conversation today of look, you could have a fractional CFO at five grand a month versus 250 grand a year, right? And you're gonna get kind of what you need. And so there is like a there's a scope. So one of the things I think about too is could a fractional with the expertise that you need get you to a point where then you could actually hire somebody at a more reasonable rate for your organization over time who can then fill in and build that. So I often think about it in terms of like, you know, Jess, you do this as well, like that systems integration, like somebody who's seen it before, built it before, done it before, can come in, can implement the FIFA assets or EOS or whatever system you want to use technology or whatever whatever it might be, can get that to a point then where somebody else can come in and run it and maintain it and drive it. But it's often that kind of like project based building. Can you get us from A to M. And then somebody else can, you know, a full time will take you from M to Z is often a way I think about a good use of a fractional.

Jessica Lee 22:08

Yeah, no, and it's great that you're bringing that up. I've had a lot of really good conversations just over the past few weeks with people that are, you know, work with businesses who are going through merger and acquisition situation. And they're really learning that fractional is a great solution on both ends, really, of that transition. Like what gaps exist and without massively impacting even a, you know, like how can I get some support in and fill in some leadership gaps and really get things cleaned up and ready to go for valuation? And then, you know, on the other end, well, what if I just acquired this company? What do I want it to look like future state? Well, I don't know exactly, but I know interim, I need something, right? So I might not have clarity on what I want the long-term leadership team to look like, but I know right now I have to keep the business running. And so how do I get fractionals in the right seat to do the things that have that expertise so that the business can continue to thrive?

Hannah Pniewski 23:03

So I have a different scenario that I actually love to ask both of you about. So let's say there's someone out there listening who does have someone in an operations lead role at their company, but things are not happening the way they need to be happening. Things are not being executed. This operations lead or marketing lead or whoever it is is just not accomplishing the work that the CEO thinks should be done. Is there ever a chance for one of us, a fractional leader, to come in and partner with that person? Does it need to be some kind of replacement where unfortunately if that person is not hitting their KPIs or their performance, then you know, we we release them into the wild, we wish them the best, and then we bring on a fractional person with that expertise to actually achieve the things that need to be done. Um, I'm curious for both of you to kind of, yeah, see what you have to say about like, is there an opportunity for someone to partner with the person that already exists in a similar role at the company?

Jessica Lee 23:54

Yeah, I think absolutely 100%. And I think it's one of the less spoken about use cases of fractional is that interim role, right? So fractional, where we know that means not full time, but also could be 40 hours a week sometimes, but interim, right? For three months, six months, nine months, whether it's in kind of Hannah, what you described, like kind of coach up or coach out kind of a scenario like, hey, I need some leadership for this specific role or this business domain. Um, can you come in and provide guidance? And then we'll see if we can hire somebody up. Or, you know, there's I'm starting an engagement next month with somebody who's great at their job, but also really important and going on maternity leave for three months. And so they can't just not have their COO integrator at all. So they're bringing me in as a fractional so that that person can, you know, not feel like, oh, I'm gonna have these other people who don't really understand how to be this thing taking over the work, and I'm gonna come at back um, you know, to a to a mess. They're like, no, we we can plug in a fractional COO integrator so we can kind of keep that momentum. So yeah, absolutely. That's a great uh solution for fractionals.

Dave Newell 24:58

Yeah, and maybe, maybe just one other use case that that we've participated in, you know, is they've got a really good, let's say, junior employee, for lack of a better term, who's evolving into a bigger role, like they see the potential in it, but just doesn't necessarily have that like executive presence yet or that knowledge or the experience. You know, coupling that person with a fractional to kind of coach them into that space, or even creating the conditions for that person to be more successful in that role. We've had several engagements over the years where you know there's been a very effective, let's say the number three in the organization, we've been an interim number two to kind of help drive that person forward, and then they've taken over the role and we've we've cascaded our way out and done some advisory. I think that's a great way to do it. You know, and I'll I'll maybe just echo some of what has already been stated that the the system part of this truly matters, right? Like I think if you're hiring a fractional person and they're just good at their job and they've been good at their job, but they're not truly bringing like, look, here's a framework that will support you, here's a tool, here's a set of systems. You're going to get six months, three to six months of that engagement. You're really gonna like that person, you're really gonna see it, and then they're gonna leave and you're gonna be left with like, yeah, but how do they do it? I don't understand what how does this work, etc. So I I can't advocate for it enough. Like, know what the system is, know what the tool is, the method, whatever it is that you're using. And just you're a good example. Like, you've got you've got three really solid tools that you use. You know, we're not all one-trick ponies most of the time, right? Uh, we have lots of different things that we use, but we have systems and tools that are knowable and repeatable that can other we teach other people that can then carry on after the fractional uh engagement. I think that's just a really helpful reminder. I'm glad you stated that.

Hannah Pniewski 26:49

One more question for you both. Who or which type of business or maybe scenario happening in a business is not the right fit for a fractional leader? What are the big like, oh, nope, that doesn't fit kind of signs that somebody might need to be aware of if they're thinking about hiring somebody like this? If I could rephrase it actually, maybe red flags for us of like, you know what, actually I've I've talked to a potential client, I've heard their scenario, and I'm like, you know what, I'm not who you need. Yeah, I'm curious to know from both of you what those situations or types of businesses would be.

Jessica Lee 27:26

Yeah, it's a good question. It's important um, right off the bat to make sure that um the leadership team or the business, you know, understands what that's gonna look like bringing in a fractional, you know, how it's gonna look and feel day over day different than a full-time person. Meaning, are they a super like, hey, we have our daily standards at 8 a.m. every single day, Monday through Friday? And then it, you know, we do all of these things together on Tuesdays and Thursdays after work. You know, if there's a ton of synergy that's being had uh Monday through Friday in the organization, I don't know that fractional is the best fit because again, we're only gonna be there certain, you know, there's there's a limit. Like that's the beauty. That's kind of what you're signing up for is that it's fractional, it's not full time. So, you know, that catch up, the game of catch up, being like, oh, you know, Jessica wasn't there. That's right, you know, we got to catch her up on this thing, can end up being pretty costly. So I like to have those those communications and understand how what the rhythm of their business is and if they can adapt to knowing, you know, that, you know, can you make the rest of the business without too much disruption adapt to having this core role, um, be only fractional? So I think that's one component of it. Um, and the other one is, you know, I've seen people, I mean, I've met people who've brought in fractionals because it's trendy right now, everyone's talking about it and now suddenly also affordable. Like, oh, cool, fractional COO for, you know, six grand a month. I'll I'll do that. Come on in, you know, and then it's like, okay, so what we're gonna work on together is rolling out some systems and building operations and we're gonna be doing this. And it's like, I don't want to do that. Like, can can you go do this project management? And it's like, well, no, because I'm not a project, because I'm not a project manager, and you know, like what a fact what a COO does, and I know you've never had one before, but they do this, they're a strategic thought partner and they oversee all of your business functions at the highest level, make sure that we have execution plans. Um, I'm going to recommend operating systems continually if you don't have them. Um, and I'm gonna want to dissect systems and understand where things are not working and where they aren't working. And if that is something that you think might be overwhelming or invasive to you, or yeah, it's something that you're really not looking for, then don't just jump on the fractional bandwagon and grab your alphabet soup of C something something, um, just to do it. So really understand what the role is and make sure your organization is ready for it.

Dave Newell 29:48

Well said. I would add one other maybe distinction to it, which is like the way we like to think about it is like advisory, which is like coaching, consulting, and fractional. And they're three different things, they're three different scopes. Meaning you can apply EOS, you can apply Five Assets to business, you can apply Colby, whatever, at any one of those scopes. And uh fractional is the most invasive of the three, right? We are an embedded member of your team, like we exist as part of your team. It means we might have management over a person, a project, a system, et cetera, et cetera. Consulting is hey, we're gonna help you put that system in place, we're gonna build some documents, we're gonna make stuff happen. We're strategic support, but then you're gonna turn around and do the implementation. And advisory is mostly just the strategic support kind of coaching, implementation coaching, we call it, to kind of help you implement the system, but we're just talking about it, we're just kind of coaching you through it, etc. Jess alluded to this earlier, but every organization has a certain level of like appetite for that, right? Or need for it. Look, if you have a highly functional leadership team, you just need a system and you don't know what the system is, maybe go with the consulting or coaching option. Yeah. Like you probably don't need an embedded member. If you have two people on your leadership team who are great and two that are really junior and not kind of pulling their weight, fractional might be a really good option to help elevate that group. So uh it is a little bit just how much investment do you need from an outsider to make the thing happen? Right. And sometimes that's an embedded member of your team is a fractional. And to your point, Jess, like it's really I think it's a really great solution. I'm really glad to see that community grow as much as it has. Uh and maybe also be a tiny bit cautious about who you invite into your organization. It is like a job interview, truly. Like really mesh with this person because they are embedded. And often it's consulting engagements can do a lot of the same stuff. If you have a pretty good leadership team that you trust that you think can get stuff done, they just need a boost or a little extra capacity. Consulting's not a bad option either. I think understanding those scopes uh is really helpful in that decision making process. But I could also see like if you met Jess, you'd be like, Yeah, we want to hang out with her a couple days a week.

Jessica Lee 32:08

Come on and do a team. I mean, yeah, we'll just do something. Who cares? Let's do it. I well, I mean, I think both make stuff happen.

Hannah Pniewski 32:16

Why not? Let's just bring her on. For sure. Both of us can speak with experience how much we enjoy working with you. So yeah, no, thank you so much for joining us today and talking us through fractional work and specifically the fractional flex model, uh, and you know, bringing those teams together. Is there anything else about that model or how you work that you want to mention or any upcoming events or things that you want to plug?

Jessica Lee 32:38

Yeah, no, thanks. I appreciate that. I'm just uh, you know, as Dave mentioned on the top of the call, I'm excited just because of how well the fractional flex model really aligns with the five facets. Um, kind of like I said, you be clear about who you need in your organization and what your leadership team is ready for before bringing somebody in. And that's what I think that the five facets uh does better than anybody else out there is taking the time to do that assessment across all five facets and diagnosing where a company is strong, right? Actually, fundamentally strong versus weak. And I know symptoms sometimes um can be what people react to, but we should look at in your organization really where should you start? And I think the framework of five facets. So yeah, just wanted to call that out. I'm I'm excited about it. Got a couple speaking events that I'm on the top of mind. I'm speaking to the Schaumburg leadership event um later in April. And in March, I'll be launching um an energy networking group for local integrators. So excited about those things.

Dave Newell 33:40

Energy networking group. I like that.

Jessica Lee 33:42

Yeah, have you heard of it? ENRG is a is a symbol. Um, yeah, it's uh it's loosely affiliated with EOS. Uh, you have to have an EOS implement on an integrator to be able to found a chapter. So it's kind of a franchisee, but it's uh based off what you guys are both familiar. Um it's actually an IDS session, uh, same time each month for local business folks to come in and join and uh process through their issues together. So instead of just networking being let's change business cards and leads and who do you need to meet, it's kind of like, hey, let's form this trusting group and solve problems together and expand our network.

Dave Newell 34:17

So I love that. Kind of like uh an open door vistage, maybe. Yep.

Jessica Lee 34:21

Not as open door, but yeah, kind of vista-y. Nice.

Hannah Pniewski 34:25

That's awesome. Well, yeah, well, listeners, we will uh link to Jessica's website in the show notes. Uh, we'll also link to our business velocity assessment that Jess was mentioning there. That assessment is what will uh quantify and qualify, well, quantify um the facets of your business that need help. Uh so if you do want to check that out, and then if you do find you know that you want to review your results, you can review your results with literally anyone on this call. We're all certified, and we're excited to talk to you about um how all of us can help to enhance your business using the five facets, the fractional flex model, and any other fractional services that you may need. So thank you very much for joining us, Jess. And uh yeah, we're gonna we're gonna sign off here.

Jessica Lee 35:08

Yeah, Dave Hannah, always a pleasure. Let's talk soon.

Dave Newell 35:11

Jess, you're the best. Thank you. Bye, guys. I think we have to do a part two. I think she just left. She did. Okay. I didn't put her in the waiting room. She just left.

Hannah Pniewski 35:21

I think we should do a part two where like I just ask her how to be more badass. I really like ever since we started working with her, I was like, oh yes, this this is we are of the same cloth, we think the same way, we analyze the same things, and we like have such fire and energy for like the same areas of business, you know. Um, so yeah, I always enjoy getting her perspective on things and uh her guidance and leadership, you know, it's it's just it's fantastic.

Dave Newell 35:50

I I think she actually speaks to both of us. She's kind of like right in between the two of us in terms of how she operates and how she thinks. We've always we've always jived with her. And truth is, she's super busy, she's got a lot of stuff going on because she's really good at what she does. Yeah. Uh and she gets it and she puts in a lot of effort and she's willing to drive and do the work. Um, so she's both strategic and uh you know a good executor. And I think those are hard folks to find, if I'm being honest. So we value that. I also think she has a lot of experience and insight and knowledge when it comes to the fractional world and and how to do it. And I think her fractional flex model has a lot of validity and opportunity in the market. We've run into several engagements ourselves where we've been fractional COOs or or you know, director of ops kind of roles. And it's like, oh yeah, but you need a financial person and you actually probably need the salesperson to come in and do X, Y, and Z on your sales side. But you know, that's just too much, too much investment to bring in a three-person fractional team, right? So having somebody who can kind of coordinate all that, and again, it's a lot of the basis for the five facets really truly like look, if you're gonna fix one part of your business, it probably means you need to fix at least two or three other pieces. You know, can we support that? And I think I think Jess is really onto something there, and I'm excited to see what she does with it.

Hannah Pniewski 37:08

Absolutely. Well, listeners, thank you for joining us for another one. And uh, we're excited to dive into some um real-world business use cases and walk you through how we would uh help them with using the five facets and the other practices that we mentioned in this episode. So uh we'll see you next time.

Dave Newell 37:26

See you next time.

Hannah Pniewski 37:29

Thank you for joining us on Business Velocity. Today's insights are just the beginning of enhancing your business's momentum. Don't forget to subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also explore our framework at theEvolved Difference.com. And remember the time is now to take these strategies and apply your learning and achieve velocity. See you next time.